Above pictures: A pic of the rooftop warriors, my interview, our US Habitat team, the next is Emil and family. Emil is the host team coordinator for Habitat Beius. The next picture is Jonout and his wife who is expecting their first child later this fall. The next picture is Andrew and his hair after a days work. The next is me, Jonout, Tani and Dianna and the picture of the river was taken walking through Oradea. (I'm not sure what order that these pictures will actually show but I have faith that you can figure it out.)
Well, the jet lag has finally subsided and life is returning to the normal routine. It is time for a final entry on this trip. I survived the final flight home. Getting up at 4 am Budapest time was not a pleasant experience :) But, all my flights were on time and my luggage made it home with me to that should count for something. I could have done without flying from Munich to London next two a couple who smelled like they hadn’t showered in a month of Sundays. Thank goodness for those airvents!
I have had some time to reflect on the team that met up on this trip. All of us were from different parts of the country and had different backgrounds. But each person brought their unique gifts and personality to the team which added to a great experience. I must also share that a we had a number of younger people on the team, a couple girls who were 19, one who just graduated college and 3 who were in their early – mid 20’s. These guys could have taken the selfish route to spend their money on a vacation at the beach or travel after graduation just to have fun, but they chose to give their time, money and talents to work for Habitat. They were so much fun to work with and I know there are good things in store for them all. Okay I must admit, it did make me feel VERY old when Andrew said “Man Cid, I wish you were my aunt! You’d be a blast.” I am going to take that comment in the context that I would be his young aunt – you know, one of those aunts who are around the same age as the nephew J The other team members were also adventurous and had some very interesting life experiences that they shared.
Speaking of showers – I am including a picture of our “shower” in Romania so you could get an idea of what we were talking about. No, there is no shower curtain. It was nice to use a real shower - with a shower door and everything – when I got home!
I included a few pictures of the guys we worked with, random pictures of Oradea and some of the guys we worked with too.
Things I have learned on this trip:
1. It is possible to communicate in ways that don’t involve the English language
2. Laughter IS the universal language
3. It is common in some parts of the world to place a shower head in the wall in the middle of a bathroom
4. Road maintenance is NOT a priority in certain parts of the world
5. Germans really do know their beer
6. Romanians really know how to PRICE their beer
7. Palinka is from the devil!
8. You can pull a team together from all over the US and have everyone get along
9. It is possible for me to use a hammer and NOT hit my thumb even once!
10. I really, really need my coffee in the morning
11. I will be ready to go on another Global Village trip next year
I do want to say a big thank you to all of you who donated to Habitat in order to make this trip even possible. It really was a terrific experience. Meeting the local Romanians – both the Habitat workers and the new home owners provided an experience that really can’t be put into words. Another thought that came to my mind during this trip was how much I think my dad would have liked a trip like this and how much fun it would have been to work side by side with him on a trip like this.
Seeing the local people find joy not in their material possessions, but in their family and friends reminded me just how “wealthy” I truly am with you all in my life.
I have had some time to reflect on the team that met up on this trip. All of us were from different parts of the country and had different backgrounds. But each person brought their unique gifts and personality to the team which added to a great experience. I must also share that a we had a number of younger people on the team, a couple girls who were 19, one who just graduated college and 3 who were in their early – mid 20’s. These guys could have taken the selfish route to spend their money on a vacation at the beach or travel after graduation just to have fun, but they chose to give their time, money and talents to work for Habitat. They were so much fun to work with and I know there are good things in store for them all. Okay I must admit, it did make me feel VERY old when Andrew said “Man Cid, I wish you were my aunt! You’d be a blast.” I am going to take that comment in the context that I would be his young aunt – you know, one of those aunts who are around the same age as the nephew J The other team members were also adventurous and had some very interesting life experiences that they shared.
Speaking of showers – I am including a picture of our “shower” in Romania so you could get an idea of what we were talking about. No, there is no shower curtain. It was nice to use a real shower - with a shower door and everything – when I got home!
I included a few pictures of the guys we worked with, random pictures of Oradea and some of the guys we worked with too.
Things I have learned on this trip:
1. It is possible to communicate in ways that don’t involve the English language
2. Laughter IS the universal language
3. It is common in some parts of the world to place a shower head in the wall in the middle of a bathroom
4. Road maintenance is NOT a priority in certain parts of the world
5. Germans really do know their beer
6. Romanians really know how to PRICE their beer
7. Palinka is from the devil!
8. You can pull a team together from all over the US and have everyone get along
9. It is possible for me to use a hammer and NOT hit my thumb even once!
10. I really, really need my coffee in the morning
11. I will be ready to go on another Global Village trip next year
I do want to say a big thank you to all of you who donated to Habitat in order to make this trip even possible. It really was a terrific experience. Meeting the local Romanians – both the Habitat workers and the new home owners provided an experience that really can’t be put into words. Another thought that came to my mind during this trip was how much I think my dad would have liked a trip like this and how much fun it would have been to work side by side with him on a trip like this.
Seeing the local people find joy not in their material possessions, but in their family and friends reminded me just how “wealthy” I truly am with you all in my life.
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